“Undisputed. Don’t take your mind off undisputed. We’re chasing unification fights. If we don’t get one by the end of the year, I’ll be very f***ing disappointed,” Opetaia told Rg.org.
He signed with Zuffa in January, and within weeks, he was stating what the deal must produce before December. Most champions spend the early stretch of a partnership talking about opportunity and belief. Opetaia did something else. He named the outcome and attached it to a window.
The cruiserweight division doesn’t move slowly for anyone. Opetaia is unbeaten through 29 fights and holds the IBF, Ring and lineal recognition. At 29, he is in his prime, and prime years do not wait while new promotional ventures establish their footing. This is Zuffa’s first real test run in boxing, and Opetaia is its most accomplished titleholder. That makes the timeline more than a personal goal. It becomes part of how this project will be judged inside the sport.
His upcoming defense against Brandon Glanton under the Zuffa banner is a starting point. A unification fight requires far more coordination, including cooperation across promotional lines and sanctioning bodies. Those talks can move slowly, and sometimes they don’t move at all. Opetaia’s tone suggests he understands that reality and is unwilling to drift into a holding pattern.
Once a champion places a date on a goal, it becomes harder to manage expectations quietly. Fans keep track, and the subject comes up again as the months pass. The timeline is no longer private.
Fighters rarely apply that kind of pressure this soon after signing. By doing it now, Opetaia has made his position clear before the year settles into routine defenses. If December arrives without a unification, the benchmark will not need to be interpreted. It was already stated.
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